Playing-ball.



N0. 696,879. Patented Apr. 1,1902'- F. H. RICHARDS. PLAYING BALL.

(Application led Mar. 5, 1902,) (No Model.)

Wtnesse Nrrnn Stans traen.. Q

FRANCIS II. RICHARDS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THEKEMPSHALL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PLAYINGmBALL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters :Patent No. 696,879, dated April1, 1902.

Application filed March 5, 1902. Serial No. 96,728. (No model.)

To @Z whom, t may concern:

Beit known that I, FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPlaying-Balls, of which the following is a specification.

Thisinvention relates to playing-balls such as used in playing base-balland other games, and is in the nature of an improvement upon theconstruction illustrated in my Patent No. 696,351, dated March 25, 1902.

Playing-ball cores orbodies have sometimes been made by Windingtensioned rubber thread into a ball. This does not, however, produce asolid ball, as the winding is irregular and numerous interstices occur,rendering the ball uncertain in action, so that it does not always givethe same response to the same blow. Moreover, the outer layer of elasticthread binds the inner layers, preventing them from actinglongitudinally. Since the inner threads are merely placed undercompression by the outer threads, the slight dierence in action obtainedover that of a soft-rubber ball is scarcely enough to justify theexpense of making aWound ball. Moreover, the rubber thread is notthoroughly cured andthe effect of putting it under longitudinal tensionis to lessen its life, so that in a very short time the ball is renderedunfit for use. The action of even a low degree of heat is injurious tothe tensioned and uncured rubber thread, causing derangement of theshape of the ball, especially if the latter is allowed to lie with oneside exposed to the hot sun, the cooler portions of the tensionedthreads contracting as the other portions weaken in the heat.

The object 0f my invention is to avoid these objections and to produce aball which is capable of absorbing from a bat a great momentum, so thatit may carry or fly a long distance. I aim to minimize the distortion ofthe ball, so as to avoid waste of driving force in changing andrestoring its shape. I also aim to produce a ball having uniform action,so that a given blow may always produce the same result, thus conducingto reliability and accuracy of action of the ball. I further aim toprolong the life of the ball.

In the drawings formingupart ot' this speciication, Figure 1 is across-section ot one kind of apparatus Which may be employed 1nproducing my improved core, a blank being shown in the apparatus and astage of manufacture being also indicated. Fig. 2 is a view similar toFig. l, but showing a core as formed and ready to be withdrawn. Fig. 3is a crosssection of a blank used in forming my improved ball,indicating one way in which said blank may be made from sections. Fig.1l is a View of a blank made in one piece. Fig. 5 is a view, upon alarger scale, of aball made in accordance with my improvements, aportion being broken away, so as to exhibit the interior.

In the several views similar parts are designated by similar letters ofreference.

Preferably I employ a Whole hollow sphere A, Fig. 4, made of softindia-rubber, which may, if desired, be pure rubber, but is preferably arubber compound having firmness and strength or toughness. An opening Bicommunicates with the hollow C of the sphere, which may be made eitherintegral, as at Fig. a, or of hemispheres A and A2, Fig. Si, saidhemispheres being suitably united.

I place the sphere A in a spherical chamber D, formed in a moldconsisting of opposing halves E and F, having registering-dowels G andclamped together by any suitable means. Each of said members E and F mayhave one-half of the chamber D, which may be considerably larger thanthe blank sphere A. Into the opening B in the latter I insert the mouthof a funnel H, which is shown as penetrating into the hollow C, althoughthis is not important in all cases. By means of said funnel the interiorC of the ball is placed in communication with a vessel or receptacle J,formed or provided in the apparatus above the chamberD, said receptaclepreferably being round and having a closely-fitting plunger K.

I place in the receptacle J a quantity of material, preferablygutta-percha,which may by the action of heat be reduced to a plastic orfluid condition, as at L, Fig. l. This material iiows down the funnelI-I into the hollow of the rubber sphere A and drives out the IOO airthrough a vent M, which in this instance is illustrated as a grooveformed in the side wall of the main opening B and lying without thefunnel H. In the portion F of the mold there may be provided a vent N,communicating at P with the ball-vent M, so the air escaping from theball may be conducted out of the apparatus. The iiuid or plasticmaterial may therefore settle or be forced by the plunger K through thefunnel H, so as to completely' ll the interior of the ball A, whereuponthe vent N in the mold may be closed by a screw-plug Q, Fig. 2, theoverfiow of the material into or through said vent indicating to theworkman that the hollow C has been filled. By means of suitableappliances the plunger K may be pressed still farther down, so as toforce more of the iill ing material into the interior of the ball,causing the walls thereof to yield and distending the ball until itcompletely fills the large spherical chamber D in the mold, as at Fig.2. The air may escape from the chamber between the mold-section orthrough a vent T. The gutta-percha or other material is allowed to passfrom a liquid into a dry or hardl condition while the plunger is stillpressed down, so that the expanded condition of the rubber shell orenvelop A3 is made permanent by reason of this solidiication of thecore, (indicated by R, Figs. 2 and 5.) The core is thus closely joinedto the envelop or mold in which it is molded. The mold may then be takenapart and the ball removed, the funnel H being withdrawn and the holeleft thereby in the ball being filled with a rubber plug S, Fig. 5.`Preferably the diameter of the core Ris more than half that of thecomplete ball. In practice I find that by making the core two-thirds ofthe diameter of the finished ball excellent results are obtained whenthe core is made of gutta-percha compressed and the shellis of a firmquality of highly-vulcanized india-rubber.

AtUis indicated a stitched cover,of leather, fabric, or the like, whichprevents cutting of the rubber. This cover may be formed and placed uponthe ball in the usual manner. The ball thus formed is well adapted foruse in base-ball and other games, and variations in the size, material,and proportions may be made in order to meet the requirements ofdifferent games. Preferably the leather cover is stretched or tensionedupon the body A3.

The principal effect of expanding a core within the envelop resides inproducing a longitudinal tension of the latter, such tension, which ofcourse extends in all directions around the ball, being indicated byconcentric broken lines A4 at Figs. 2 and 5 and being most pronounced ator near the outer or surface portion of the ball. The inner portion ofsaid envelop is also in a state of compression between the outer portionof the envelop and the core, such compression being indicated by radiallines A5 and being greatest near the inner surface of the envelop, wheresaid radial lines are thickest. Thus the inner portion of the envelop ispractically in a state of compression, the median portion is bothcompressed and tensioned, while the eXtreme outer portion is in a stateof tension only. By the term compression I mean compressive tendency oraction. It is not necessary that the core or its mold be condensed inbulk, and if such condensation takes place it is due to the presence ofair-spaces or impurities in the material.

It will be perceived that the material of the entire ball from centervtoperiphery is in an abnormal condition,the core being under compressionand the envelop being both compressed and longitudinally tensioned, sothat an extraordinary degree of efficiency is attained, every affectedparticle of the ball acting with promptness and vigor in response to ablow. Although the outer part of the shell or jacket is in a softcondition and effectually cushions the blow of an implement, still theeffect of a blow is different from the effect upon a ball havingauniform softness of texture throughout. In the latter case a severe blowwould violently distort the ball instead of giving the same impetus,whereas in my ball the softness resides only at the surface, and as soonas this slight resistance is overcome a high resistance is met due tothe presence of the relatively hard solid core, which not only itselfabsorbs momentum from the implement, but also by reason of its sol-idityprevents undue distortion of the ball, so that nearly all of the forcegoing from the imple? ment to the ball is utilized to impart velocitythereto. It will also be understood that under the shock of a blow thesolid core is slightly deplaced from its true central position, therebyaffecting somewhat the material of the envelop at the opposite side ofthe ball from the implement and also affecting other portions of theenvelop, so that almost, if not all of the material of` the envelop iscalled into action and instantly reacts, therebyimparting ahigh degreeof activity or liveliness to the ball and causing the same to leave theimplement at high velocity. Only a slight distortion is produced at anyportion of the ball, whose entire mass is thus rendered activein'restoring the ball to its original spherical shape, and hence inreacting against the implement. It will be understood that the result ofa blow will depend upon the velocity and weight of the implement as wellas upon the weight of the ball, the depth of the depression produced inthe ball, and especially upon the ratio of increase in resistanceoffered thereby. In this instance this ratio is very high, the ballfeeling quite soft to a light touch, but oering a hard resistance topressure. The ball thus has practically all the desirable qualities ofthe usual soft-rubber ball and also a phenominal flying or carryingpower.

Owing to the rapidly-increasing resistance even a heavy blow effectsonly a slight distortion of the envelop and that only over a IOO smallarea thereof, so that very little force is absorbed in changing andrechanging the forni of the ball. Moreover, the period during which thedriver may continue to deliver power into the ball itself is increased,with the result of giving to the ball a longer flight. The compressedcore not only retains the envelop in an expanded state, but alsosupports the same when struck, and by the combined elasticity of coreand envelop an extremely. active and powerful ball is produced.

It will be noted that my rubber envelop is` different from one which isapplied in the form of a green or uncured coating upon a` center piece,since a coating made insuch` manner must be vulcanized in place, and inthis process the whole mass of rubber becomes equalized in a densityandinert or normally without tension. Byhaving the interior of therubber envelop or coating in a state of compression while the outerportion is in a state of longitudinal tension the efticiency of the ballis improved and the envelop is not merely an inert portion having noforce or tension except that which is di` rectly received from a driver.

lt is to be understood that my invention is not limited in all cases tothe use of a springy center piece or core, since other cores may beemployed within the scope of the invention so long as a spherical orsegmental elastic hollow ball or shell is permanently expanded over asolid or hard core which is too large for the original capacity of theformer.

An important advantage of my invention resides in the durability of thefinished ball, since instead of employing the partially-curedV rubberthreads of which the balls are wound, which are susceptible to manydeleterious influences, I employ rubber of firm texture and highlyvulcanized, and hence not liable to deterioration, so that the ball notonlyV withstands severe usage, but remains in its original elasticcondition for a long time. In the rubber-thread balls it is usual tostretch the thread nearly to the breaking-point while winding, and owingto such violent treatmentv the thread rapidly loses its life,particularly since it is not well cured, while in my ball better resultsare obtained by subjecting rubtension, thereby couducing to long life ofthe ball. Moreover, by tensioning the rubberafter the manner of myinvention it is given` a promptness in action which is not possible in arubber-thread ball, the action of the inner layers whereof is seriouslyimpeded by the binding eifect of the outer layers of thread. i Moreover,in a rubber-tl1read ball the tension is in only one direction, whereasin my elastic envelop the tension is in all directions aroundthecircumference -of the ball, and hence the activity'of all theparticles of the rubber envelop is fully developed, or, in short, theball carries no dead-weight. Moreover, the ball thus formed has auniform solidity or density, which is not found in a thread ballonaccount of its interstices, and hence the same blow always producesthe same result, enabling the user to play to better advantage.

Should the original ball A be somewhat imperfect or irregular inconstructionor form, the expansion and solidification of the core in thedescribed manner is found to compensate for such imperfection orirregularity, since the rubber envelop is caused to fit smoothly to thewalls of the spherical chamber D in the mold and such irregularities asmay exist are caused to develop upon thein- -ner surface of saidenvelop, where they ben come embedded with the solid core,and hence arerendered unobjectionable. Thus I pro-Y duce a smooth true curvature ofthe periphery of the ball, which is a desideratum.

Modifications and variations may be re- -sorted to within the scope ofmy invention.

Having described my invention, I claiml. A ball comprising a wholehollow rubber sphere in astate of expansion upon a solid `core ofgutta-percha, and a cover of leather or fabric upon said sphere.

2. A ball comprising an integral hollow rub ber sphere in a state ofexpansion upon a solid core, and a leather cover upon said sphere.

3. A ball comprising an integral sphere of rubber expanded over a solidand relatively hard iilling formed from plastic materialand a stitchedleather cover upon said sphere.

a. A ball consisting of awhole thick spherical india-rubber sphere, in astate of expansion over a solid sphere of gutta-percha and a leathercover stretched over said india-rub; ber sphere.

5. A ball comprising a whole sphere of firm india-rubber in a state ofexpansion over a ,solid sphere of gutta-percha, the diameter of `thecore being more than one-half that of said sphere, and a leather coverupon said sphere. bei' which is well cured to considerably less G. Aball consisting of a core formed of plas- `tic material within alsofterelastic sphere and holding the latter under tension, and a cover`consisting of pliable fibrous material.`

rRANois n. RICHARDS.

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